1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a braking control system for a hybrid vehicle having an electric drive (EV) mode in which a drive wheel is solely driven by a motor/generator and a hybrid drive (HEV) mode in which the drive wheel is driven by an engine and the motor/generator, or the engine only. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle control system configured to control a torque transfer capacity of a clutch that directs the drive power from both the engine and the motor/generator to a drive wheel during travel wherein the drive power from the motor/generator is used for at least part of the vehicle drive force.
2. Background Information
Various configurations have been proposed for hybrid vehicle drive control systems to be used in hybrid vehicles. One such hybrid drive system is presented in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-082260. The hybrid vehicle drive control system presented in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-082260 has a motor/generator arranged between an engine and a transmission so as to be coupled to a shaft that directs the rotation of the engine to the transmission, a first clutch operatively connecting and disconnecting the engine to and from the motor/generator, and a second clutch operatively connecting and disconnecting the motor/generator to and from the output shaft of the transmission. The second clutch is provided to replace a conventional torque converter.
A hybrid vehicle equipped with a hybrid vehicle drive system like that just described can be put into an electric drive (EV) mode in which the vehicle travels solely by means of power from the motor/generator by disconnecting the first clutch and connecting the second clutch. Such a hybrid vehicle can also be put into a hybrid drive (HEV) mode in which the vehicle travels using power from both the engine and the motor/generator by connecting both the first clutch and the second clutch. Accordingly, the second clutch is a clutch that directs the drive power from both the engine and the motor/generator to the drive wheel.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved hybrid vehicle control system. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.